Focusing lamp



June 1927' c. E. GODLEY FOGUSING LAMP lfiled 001;. 9. 1926 2 Sheds-Sheet 1 June 7, 1927. I C. E- GODLEY FOCUSING LAMP Filed 001:. 9. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 bar.

a v w 4 lll Patented June 7, 1927.

iTEn s r TEs PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. GODLEY, F YPSILAN'II, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO .EDMUNDS '& JONES CORPORATION, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

FOCUSING mm.

Ap'plication filed October 9, 1926. Serial No. 140,610.

My invention relates to focusing mechanisms for adjusting the position of a lamp bulb both longitudinally of a reflector and along one medial plane of the reflector. In general, my invention aims to provide a simple and easily assembled mechanism for this purpose and one in which an inexperienced userwill not easily be confusedas to the parts which are to be actuated for effecting each of these two adjustments.

More particularly, my invention provides a focusing mechanism which can easily be adapted to lamps having different spacings between the reflector and the back of the lamp casing, and one in which the entire mechanism can be mounted either on the reflector or on the back of the lamp casing. It also provides a mechanism for this purpose in which the means for actuating one of the adjustments are concentric with and mounted on the means for actuating the other adjustment, and aims to latch one of these actuating means against accidental movement during the actuating of the other adjustment.

a focusing mechanism in which a longitudinal adjustment of the lamp bulb is effected by sliding the lamp socket in the bore of the reflector, in which the vertical adjust ment is effected by rocking the guide upon the wall of this perforation in the reflector, and in which the rocking of the socket is effected through a cam member pivoted on the screw which effects the sliding of, the socket. It also provides simple and effective means for affording a non-rattling connection between certain parts of the mechaT nism and for permitting the guide to rock without tilting or cramping the" screw em ployed for sliding the socket longitudinally.

Still furtherand also more detailed objects will appear from the following specification and from the accompanying drawings, in which 1 F'g. 1 is a fragmentary central, vertical and longitudinalsection through an automobile headlight embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the mechanism of Fig. Ltogether with the rear end portion of the reflector of the headlight. I

Fig. 3 is an enlarged front elevationflof .the cam disk of Figs. land 2. f

Fig. 4 is asimilarly enlargedflrearflelev ration of the bight of the yoke which supports most of the focusing mechanism,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective View of the cam-engaging member which effects the rocking of the socket.

Fig.6 is an'enlarged front elevation of the rear end portion of the reflector and of the shell of the socket, namely a view taken from the line 66 of Fig. 1 with the lamp bulb and the structure within the socket shell omitted.

Fig. 7 is a section similar to Fig. 1, showmg another embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken along the line 88 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a bottom view of-the focusing mechanism and rear reflector portion of Fig, 7. r

Fig. 10 is a section similar to a portion of Flg. 7 but showing'the longitudinal adustment screw as swiveled on a bracket carried by the lamp casing.

Fig. 11 is a rear view of the central portion of the reflector.

Referring first to Figs. 7 to 10 inclusive,

More )articularl 1 my invention rovides these show voarts of an automobile headlight including a reflector 1 which has its rear end formed into a rearwardly extending cup 2. The rear end or bottom of this cup has a perforation 3 corresponding in horizontal diameter to the outside diameter of the shell 4- of a lamp socket, and this erforation has upper and lower enlargements to afford room for a bracket arm 5 and a tilting arm 6 which are secured respectively to the top and to the bottom of .the axis of the reflector.

The back 9 ofthe casing of the headlight is provided with a perforation and the poris formed into a guide tube 10 coaxialwith the reflector. Freely rotatablein this guide tion of the backadjacent to this perforation all l tube is the cup-shaped head 11 of a cam member which also includes a disk 12 provided with aspiral slot 13, this slot being involute with respect to a perforation 23 provided in the disk 12 coaxial with the head 11. .Extending through the perforation 23 is a screw 14 which has its head 14: disposed within the said cup-shaped head and which screw isthreaded through the nut 8. I

The screw 14; also extends through and is journaled in the bight 15 of a rigid yoke which has arms lfi extending forwardly and these arms are secured to the opposite sides ofthe. cup formation 2 on the reflector. The bight 15 of the yoke bears rearwardly against the disk 12 and the screw 14 is pre vented from moving longitudinally with respect to the said disk and thesaid bight by suitable, means, as for exampleby a spring washer 16 which is interposed between the said bight and a pin 17 extending transversely through the shank of the screw, the location of the said pin being such that the spring washer also draws the head lat of the screw against the rear face of the disk 12. v i 1 Tie lower or tilting arm 6' which is secured to the bottom of the socket shell 4 extends rearwardly through the spiral slot 13 of the disk and is preferably of a thickness closely approximating the width of thatslot.

With the mechanism thus arranged, the bight of the yoke (which yoke is fast on the reflector) has the screw effectively swiveled on. it, so that the screw 14 cannot move longitudinally. V'Vhen this screw is rotated in either direction, it moves the nut 8 longitudinally of the common axis of the screw and reflector, and the bracket 5 transmits this movement to the socket, thereby sliding the socket in the reflector perforation 3 to adjust the lamp bulb 18 longitudinally of the reflector.

For the vertical adjustment, the cam memberris rotated so as to vary the distance from the axis of thescrew 1 1 (on which the same member is journaled) to the portion of the spiral slot through whichthe tilting arm 6 extends, this slot being arranged after the manner shown in Fig. 3. By doing this, I cause the rear end of the rigid tilting arm 6 to be raised or lowered according to the direction in which the slotted disk was rotated, thereby rocking the socket shell about the bore of the perforation 3 so as to lower or raise the lamp bulb.

To facilitate the independent manipulating of the two adjustments, I preferably make the cup-shaped head 11 considerably greater in interior depth than the height. of the head 14 of the adjusting screw and I provide this head 11 with slot portions 20 which can be engaged either by a large sized screw driver or by a coin 21 without having such an operat ng tool contact with the screw-head 14?. i

In the embodiment above described, the

yoke can readily be of such rigidity as to support the entire focusing mechanism independent of the back of the lamp casing, or the head 11 may closely approach the bore of the tubular casing part 10 so as to be 'journaled in the latter, thereby makin the casing cooperate in the supporting. r, I may support the mechanism entirely from the casing, as for example by employing a bracket 25 riveted to the back 9 of the casing and serving as a substitute for the yoke ofFigs, 7 and 9, after the manner shown in Fig. 10.

So also, other described mechanism may be varied consid-.

erably. In practice, I preferably-make the r tilting arm. integral with the bracket arm which engagesthe nut, and for that purpose may employ a single-piece member formed as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. This comprises a forwardarrn 26 soldered to the bottom of the socket shell t, a riser portion 27 ex tending upwardly from the rear end of the arm 26' and having a perforation 28 through which wires 29 lead into the socket, an upperand substantially horizontal portion 30 disposed considerably "above the'axis of the socket, a nut-engaging portion 31 (which forms the thrust-transmitting portion of this single-piece member) and a lower or tilt-efiecting rear arm 32. In this case, the portion 31 is desirably curved about a hori-- zontal axis intercepting the axis of the socket approximately opposite the perforated refiector tube end, while the nut 33 is a correspondingly curved punching provided with ears 3 1 which overhang opposite vertical edges of the portion 31 to hold the nut against rotation.

Instead of using a cross-pin through the screw shank and aspring washer for effecting the swiveling of the screw after the manner of F 1g. 7, I preferably interpose a features of the heretofore compression spring 35 between the bight- 15 of the yoke and the said portion 31, so that the spring also takes up any looseness in the threading of the nuton' the screw and serves as a friction-producing means to deter arotating of the screw. Then I also provide the adjacent faces of the bight 15 and of the slotted disk with interengaging teeth (36,

37) to hold the disk against accidental rotation, these teeth being normallyv held in interengagement by the pressure of the spring3. A t i r l To adapt my focusing mechanism to lamps having widely varying spacings between the backof the casing and the rear end of the reflector, I may form the larger actuating head 38 separately from the slotted disk 39 and may connect these elements by strips 40 secured to both, asshownin- Figs. 1 and 2. In thatcase, I provide the shank of the screw 41 with a radial collar 42 hearing against'the rear face of the slotted disk .39 andspaced from the slotted head 43 of: the screw, so that I can suit various lengths of lamp casings-by merely changing the lengths of the strips 40 and the lengths of the screw shank portion between the-head 43. and'the collar 42. However, it will be noted that the head 38, the strips 40 and the slotted disk 39 form a rigid unit which isthecfam member of the focusing device of Figs. 1 and 2, as an equiva-lent of the single-piece canrmember of Figs. v7, 9 and 10.

To allow for the rocking of the socket (and hence of the single-piece member illustrated in Fig. 5) without crampingthe screw, I preferably elongate the perforation 44 vertically, this being the perforation through whichthe screw 41' extends. In making this inemberof thin material, I may provide its rear arm 32 with a stiffening ridge 45 as shown'in Fig. 5.

To prevent the socket from rocking laterally, Ipreferably elongate the tubularformation- 2 on the reflector vertically-and make the width of the bore of'thi-s formation equal to the outside diameter of the socket shell 4. By thus elongatingit, I can providea pairof parallel vertical guide walls engag-' ing opposite sides of the socket shell as shown in Fig. 6. i

However, I do not wish to be limitedto these or other details of the construction and arrangement above described, as manymodific'ations may obviously be'made without departing either from the spirit of my 'invention or-from the'appended claims.

I claim as my'invention z" 1. Ina lamp,a reflector having a substantially axial perforation, a lamp socket extending slidably through the perforation and adaptedt'o rockin one plane about. the wall of the perforation, a supportingmember fast on the reflector, a screw effectively swiveled upon the supporting member and threadedly connected to the socket to adjust the socket axially, a cam member rotatably mounted on the screw, a tilt-effecting member fast on the socket and in operative engagement with the cam portion of the cam member, and means to rotate the cam member to tilt the socket.

2. A lamp construction as per claim 1, in which the cam member comprises a disk having a spiral slot housing a portion of the tilt-effecting member.

3. A lamp construction as per claim 1, in which the cam member includes a tubular portion housing the head of the screw and extending rearwardly beyond the head of the screw.

4. A lamp construction as per claim '1, in which the cammember includes a tubular portion housing the head ofthe screw and extendingv rearwardly beyond the head of the screw, in combination with a casing housingv the reflector and having. its back provided with a perforationinto which the tubular portion'of the cam member extends.

5. A lamp construction as per claim 1, in whichthe cam member and the supporting member are provided with inter-engaging formations for deterringrotation of the cam member, and spring means tending to hold the said interengaging formations interlocked.

6. In a lamp, a reflector having a substan- .tially axial perforation, a socket extending slidably housing the head of the said screw,

the said-member also having a spiralslot, a tilt-effecting member fast upon the. socket and inoperative engagement with the said slot, whereby a rotation of the cam member rocks the socket onthe perforation wall, and a threaded connection between the socket andtheadjustingscrew whereby rotation of the screw slides the socket longitudinally with respect to the reflector.

7.1 A lamp including a reflector having. a substantially axial perforation and a casing having its back definitely spaced rearwardly from the reflector, a screw supporting member mounted within the casing, a lampsocket extending slidably through-the perforation and adapted to rock in one plane about the wallof the perforation, a screw effectively swiveled upon the supporting member,

means affording a threaded connection 'between the screwand the socket whereby rotationcf the screw slides the socket with respect-to the reflector, a cam member rotatably mounted upon the screw and including a tubular head housing the head of the screw, and tilt-effecting means operatively interposed between the socket and the cam member whereby rotation of the cam member rocks the socket about the said perforation wall, the depth of the cup-shaped head and the disposition of the screw-head being such as to keep the screw-head normally out of reach of a screwdriver tip spanning the said mouth and engaging the slot of the cup-shaped head.

8. A lamp including a reflector having a substantially axial perforation and a casing having its back definitely spaced rearwardly from the reflector, a screw supporting member within the casing, a lamp socket extending slidably through the perforation and adapted to rock in one plane about the wall of the perforation, a screw effectively swiveled upon the supporting member, means affording a threaded connection be tween the screw and the socket whereby rotation of the screw slides the socket with respect to the reflector, a cam member rotatably mounted upon the screw, and tilteffectin means operatively interposed between the socket and the cam member whereby rotation of the cam member. rocks the socket about the said perforation wall.

9. In a lamp, a reflector having a substantially axial perforation; a yoke having its arms secured to the reflector and its bight spaced rearwardly from the reflector; a disk engaging the'rear face of the bight and having a spiral slot, the disk and bight having alined perforations; a screw extending through the said perforations; a lamp socket extending slidably through the perforation in'the reflector and adapted to rock in one plane on the wall of that perforation; thrust transmitting means rigidly connected to the socket and threaded upon the screw and arrangedto permit a rocking of the socket, an actuating element extending rearwardly beyond the head of the screw and fast upon the disk, and a tilt-effecting element fast with respect to the socket and extending through the said slot. T 10. A lamp construction as per claim 9, in which the thrust-transmitting means in: clude a nut bearing against the tilt-effecting element and interlocked with thelatter to prevent rotation of the nut.

11. A lamp construction as per claim 9, in which the disk and the said bight are provided with interengaging formations for deterring rotation of the disk; in combina tion with spring means for pressing the disk against the bight to hold the said interengaging formations interlocked.

12. A lamp construction as per claim 9, in which thethrust-transmitting means include a nut bearing against the tilt-effecting element and interlocked with the latter to prevent rotation of the nut, the nut being slidable on the said element in the .said plane, and spring means for pressing the tilt-effecting element against the nut.

18. A lamp construction as per claim 9, in which the thrust-transmitting means include a nut bearing against the tilt-effecting element and interlocked with the latter to prevent rotation of the nut, the nut being slidable on the said element in the said plane, andzspring means for pressing the tilt-effecting element against the nut; the bight and disk having interengaging formations for deterring rotation of the disk, and the spring means serving also to pressthe bight against the disk so as to hold the said interengaging formations interlocked.

14h In a lamp, a reflector having a substantially axial-perforation; a'yoke having its arms secured to the reflector and its bight spaced rearwardly from the reflector; a disk engaging the rear face of the bight and having a spiral. slot, the disk and bight having alined perforations; a screw extending, through the said perforations; a lamp socket extending slidably through the perforation in the reflector and adapted to rock in one plane ,onthe wall of that perforation; a tilt-effecting member fast upon the socket and having a portion extending through the said slot, the said member having an intermediate portion through which" the screw extends; a nut slidable in the said planeon the said intermed ate portion and threaded upon the screw; and means fast on the disk for rotating the latter. 7 e I A lamp construction asper claim 14:, including a compression spring interposed between the said bight and the said intermediate portion, the screw having a part engaging the rear face of the disk and against which part the disk is pressed by the spring. 1

' Signed at Detroit, Michigam september 23rd, 1926.,

' CHARLES -E.eoDLEY[ 

